Sear for firearms



Patented Oct. 3 0, I1945 UNITED STATE sEAR Fon FmEARMS Frederick Humeston, Syracuse,N. Y., assignor to ThevHigh/Standard Manufacturing Corporation, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application November 27, 1943, Serial No. 511,938

3 Claims.

posed to provide sheet-metal sears for lirearms f but all such prior sheet-metal sears-have been open to serious objections, mainlywith respect I to their inability to withstand continuous usage.

and particularly the continuous and rough usage to which sears of military firearms are subjected.

The main object of the present invention is to 4provide a superior sheet-metal sear which vcombines low costwith adequate strength to withstand long periods of continuous and hard usage.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a superior sheet-metal sear having an integral scar-nose supported by the remainder of the sheet-metal structure in such manner as to effectively withstand severe usage without derangement or distortion.

`With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art Yfrom the present disclosure, this invention includes all `features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art. I l

In the accompanying drawing, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shownfor illustrative purposes:

Figi 1 is a broken view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical central-longitudinal section of the central portion of a bolt-action militaryrie Yand showing a sheet-metal sear of the present invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the Sear;

Fig. 3 is aview thereof in side elevation; Jig. 4 is a view looking toward the rear end of the sear;

Fig. 5 is a view looking toward the forward end of the sear;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional View taken on theline 6-6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the scar.

In Fig. 1 is shown portions of a bolt-action military rifle which include a receiver I0, a breech-bolt II, and a firing-pin I2. axially movable in the said breech-bolt. The said firing-pin I2 is provided at its rear end with a knurled finger-piece I3 by means of which it may be manually cocked and is also provided with a depending cocking-lug I4 formed with a forwardlyfacing cooking-abutment I5.

'I he receiver Ill is attached to the upper portion of a stock I6 and is formed at a point below the rear portion of the breech-bolt II and firingpin I2 with a recess I 1 in which is accommodated a sheet-metal sear generally designated bythe reference charactery I8 and which will be more fully hereinafter described. The stock I6. is formed with a vertical clearance-passage I9 registering at its upper end with the recess I1 and communicating at its `lower end with a clearance-opening 20 formed in a trigger-plate unit -2I secured in any suitable manner to the underside of the stock I6. `The -said triggerplate unit 2l includes a loop-like trigger-guard 22 in which moves a linger-piece 23 formed at the lower end of a trigger 24.` f l The trigger' 24 extends upwardly through a clearance-opening 25 formed in the bottom-Wall 26 of the sear I8, as is shown in Fig. 1. In addition to its said bottom-wall 26, the sear I8 includes two laterally-spaced-apart parallel integral side-walls Z'I-Z'ILandV an upwardly-and- :rearwardly-curved rear-wall -or end-wall 28 integral with and merging into the bottom-wall 26 `before referred to.

The bottom-wall 26 of the sear I8 is depressed below the general level thereof `at the forward `end. of the 'Sear to provide anupwardly-facing Sear-spring seat 29. Centrally upstanding from `the scar-spring seat29 and riveted at its lower end into the adjacentl portion of the bottom-wall 26,` is a scar-spring post 30 over which ts the lower end of a helical scar-spring 3l. The upyper `end of the Sear-spring 3| thrusts againstlthe adjacent portion of the underside of the receiver yI0 and exerts a conStant-but-yielding effort to .turn the sear" |8 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1.

Adjacent their respective forward ends, each `ofthe respective opposite side-walls 2'I-21 of thesear is is provided with a verneem-extending mounting-ear 32 formed with a, sear-pin hole '33 arranged in alignment with the similar sear- Vspring hole 33 in the mounting-ear 32 of the opposite side-wall 21; "as is especially well shown Formed integralwith and projecting upwardly from the upperend Vof the arcuateA rear-wall `28 of the sear I8 is a scar-nose 34. As willbe seen by reference to thedrawing, the Sear-nose 34 projects above the respective upper edges of the complemental side-walls 21-21 of the sear I8,

and the rear face of the said Sear-nose is adapted to engage with the cooking-abutment I5 of the ring-pin I 2, as is shown in Fig. 1. Projecting centrally forwardly from the rear portion of the sear I8, partly from the Sear-nose 34 and partly from the arcuate rear-wall 28, is an integral buttress-rib 35 serving to buttress or support the sear-nose 34.

About midway lengthwise of the sear I8, between the scar-nose 34 and the complemental mounting-ears 32-32, each of the side-walls 21--21 is formed with a trigger-pin hole 36 arranged yin axial alignment with the similar trigger-pinhole E35 in the other of the `two side-walls 21-21. Extending through the two aligned trigger-pin holes 36-36 just referred to and through the upper portion of the trigger 24, is a trigger-pin 31 serving to pivotally connect the said trigger to the sear |8, as is shown in Fig. 1. As will be observed by reference to the figure just referred to, the upper end of the trigger 24 is formed with a fulcrum-boss 38 which is adapted to rock against the under-face of a transverse wall 39 forming an integral feature of the receiver I and constituting the major portion of the top-wall of the recess I1 therein.

The scar-nose 34 of the sear I8 normally projects upwardly from the recess Il in the receiver Ill), through ze.' vertical clearancepassage 40 formed inthe rear portion of the transverse wall 39 just labove referred to. For the purpose of pivotally connecting the `sear I8 to the under portion of' the receiver III, a transverse Sear-pin 4| employed which extends through the aligned Sear-pin 'holes 33--33, as is shown in Fig. V1.

As `before pointed out, the helical Sear-spring 3| exerts a constant-but-yielding effort to swing the sear I8 ina clockwiseY direction, as viewed in Fig. 1. Thus, the said vSear-spring 3| serves to yieldingly urge the Sear-nose 34 upwardly for' interposition into the path of ,forward movement of' the cooking-lug I4 of theiiring-pin I2 and of'its cocking-abutment I5..

When the firing-pin I2 is cocked, as shown in Fig. 1, the Sear-nose 34 of the sear I8 will serve to releasably hold the firing-pin in such position.

If, now, the finger-piece 23 of the trigger 24 is pulled rearwardly, the fulcrum-boss 38 at the top of the said Vtrigger will rock upon the underface ofthe transverse wall 39 of the receiver III, and through the intermediary of the trigger-pin 31 will cause the sea-r to be turned in a counterclockwise direction. When the sear is turned asl just referred to, the scar-nose 34 will be swung downwardly and eventually will ride free of the cooking-abutment I5 and thereby permit the ring-pin- I2 to eiect the discharge of the rirearm in a manner well known in the art.

It is to be noted that the sear I8 is not merely folded up from sheet metal but, in effect, isf 'cupped up or drawn up from sheet metal so' that and extending upwardly from the said bottomwail, the said side-walls being provided with means for pivotally connecting the sear to a rearm-structure; an end-wall integral with the said bottom-wall and integrally united substantially throughout its length to both of the said side-walls, the said end-wall being provided with an integral Sear-nose .constructed and arranged to releasably engage with the firing-member of a iirearm;4 'and an integral buttress-rib connecting the said .Sear-,nose and the said end-wall and formed integral with both thereof.

2. A drawn sheet-metal sear for firearms, including in combination: Va bottom-wall; a pair of laterally-spaced-apart side-walls integral with and extending upwardly from the said bottomwall, the said side-walls being provided with means for pivotally connecting the sear to a rearm-structure; a rear-wall integral with the said bottom-wall and integrally united substantially throughout its length to both of the said side-` walls, the said rear-wall being inclined rearwardly and upwardly from the said bottom-wall and provided with any integral sear-nosey constructed and arranged to releasably engage with the firing-member of Aa firearm; and a.` rearwardly-and-upwardly-inclined integral buttressrib integrally uniting the said scar-nose and th said inclined rear-wall of the sear.

3. A drawn 'sheet-metal sear for firearms', including in combination: a bottom-Wall; a pair of laterally-spaced-apart side-walls integral with and extending upwardly from the lsaid bottom-wall, the said side-'walls being provided with means for pivotally connecting the sear to a firearm-structure; a rear-wall integral with the said bottom-wall and'integrally united substantially' throughout its length to both of Vthe said' side-walls, the said rear-wall being inclined rearwardly and upwardly from 'the said bottomwall and having a concave upper forward face and a convex lower rearward face; an integral substantially-vertical scar-nose extending upwardly from the upper rear-terminus of the said inclined rear-wall to releasably engage with the firing-member of a rearm; and a rearwardly-and-upwardly-inclined integral' buttressrib olfsetting partly from the Vforward-face of the said substantially-vertical scarf-nose and partly from the inclined concave forward upper-surface of the said end-wall. l

' FREDERICK L. HUMESTON. 

